Leicester clothing manufacturing company director banned for 7 years for employing illegal workers

Asimali Alihusen, the director of AJ Design (Leic) Ltd, a Leicester clothing company, has signed a disqualification undertaking, banning him from acting as a director for seven years, from 18 February, for allowing the company to employ illegal workers.

(PressZoom) - Asimali Alihusen, the director of AJ Design (Leic) Ltd, a Leicester clothing company, has signed a disqualification undertaking, banning him from acting as a director for seven years, from 18 February, for allowing the company to employ illegal workers.

This follows an investigation by the Insolvency Service, working with the Home Office.

The Undertaking, to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation & Skills, accepted on 28 January, bans Mr Alihusen from acting as a company director or from managing or in any way controlling a limited company until 2023.

Mr Alihusen of Leicester was a director of AJ Design (Leic) Ltd from 15 January 2013 to 12 June 2015. On 15 April 2015, a time when he was a director, the company was found to be employing 17 workers who were not eligible to work in the UK.

The business, a manufacturer of clothing, went into liquidation on 12 June 2015 owing £270,600 to creditors, including £255,000 for a fine imposed by Home Office Immigration and Enforcement for employing illegal workers.

Illegal workers are not protected under employment law, and cheat legitimate job seekers out of employment opportunities. Those who employ them defraud the taxpayer and undercut honest competitors. This should serve as a warning to other directors who may feel tempted to break the law.

The Immigration law makes employers responsible for preventing illegal working in the UK. To comply with the law, a company must check and be able to prove documents have been checked prior to recruitment, showing a person’s entitlement to work.

Mr Asimali Alihusen was the sole registered director from 15 January 2013 to 12 June 2015 (the date of liquidation).

Mr Asimali Alihusen’s date of birth is 21 July 1985.

The matters of unfitness that were laid before the court, and which resulted in the Order were that Asimali Alihusen (“Mr Alihusen”) caused AJ Design (Leicester) Limited (“AJDL”) to employ 17 illegal workers prior to a Home Office visit on 15 April 2015 , in contravention of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006. This led to a penalty of £255,000.

Mr Alihusen was appointed as a director of AJDL on 15 January 2013 and remained in office until the date of Liquidation on 12 June 2015.

AJDL’s trading premises were visited by Home Office Immigration Enforcement (HOIE) officers on 15 April 2015 and the company was found to be employing 17 illegal workers.

On 22 May 2015, the HOIE issued AJDL with a Notification of Liability for a civil penalty of £255,000 for the company’s employment of illegal workers.

AJDL failed to pay the penalty and entered into Liquidation on 12 June 2015 with a deficiency of £270,275. The liabilities comprised: £4,500 due to HMRC for Corporation Tax; £11,000 owed to the director and the HOIE penalty of £255,000. The Company had assets of £27.

A disqualification order has the effect that without specific permission of a court, a person with a disqualification cannot:

act as a director of a company take part, directly or indirectly, in the promotion, formation or management of a company or limited liability partnership be a receiver of a company’s property In addition that person cannot act as an insolvency practitioner and there are many other restrictions are placed on disqualified directors by other regulations.

Further information on director disqualifications and restrictions can be found here

The Insolvency Service administers the insolvency regime, investigating all compulsory liquidations and individual insolvencies (bankruptcies) through the Official Receiver to establish why they became insolvent. It may also use powers under the Companies Act 1985 to conduct confidential fact-finding investigations into the activities of live limited companies in the UK. In addition, the agency authorises and regulates the insolvency profession, deals with disqualification of directors in corporate failures, assesses and pays statutory entitlement to redundancy payments when an employer cannot or will not pay employees, provides banking and investment services for bankruptcy and liquidation estate funds and advises ministers and other government departments on insolvency law and practice.

Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct, is available.

This news item was released on 2016-02-16. Please make sure to visit the official company or organization web site to learn more about the original release date. See our disclaimer for more information.